Time Bomb
by Goliath
Summary: Set after the last episode. Chase isn't the same since returning from England
1. Chapter 1

**TIME BOMB**

**Dan Schneider and Nick own all.**

"Can I walk a pretty lady to class?" Chase asked Lola with his trademark lopsided grin.

"Of course." Lola replied and slipped her arm through the one Chase offered.

"So, you figure out that algebra assignment?" he asked her. Lola's groan told him all he needed to know.

"I hate algebra!" she stated dramatically causing Chase to cover his mouth to prevent laughing, "At least it's not due until Friday."

"I'll help you tonight." Chase told her. Lola really needed to fight the urge to kiss her friend. No need to start up rumors. Especially since she already had a boyfriend. Lola had been amazed and grateful for how easily Chase and Vince got along. Chase said that he long ago learned to forgive and forget and could tell how Vince had changed. The two were now actually good friends much to Lola's delight.

"You really are the best friend a girl could have." Lola stated resting her head against his shoulder. "you're practically one of us!" she finished brightly.

"Um, thank you, I think" Chase responded with a confused expression that made Lola giggle.

That's when the pain struck.

"AHHHH!" Chase screamed and put his hand over his right eye, shutting both eyes tightly. "Not now!" he whispered.

"Chase!" Lola cried as the young man fell to his knees, breathing heavily. Lola knelt down beside him and put her hands on his shoulders, her eyes wide with concern and fear. After a few minutes the pain subsided and Chase removed his hand from his face. He regarded his surroundings with clear confusion.

"Chase?" Lola practically whispered. Chase seemed not to hear her as he continued to scan the bright sunny campus.

"This isn't England." he murmured to himself. After a while he begin to recognize familiar markings. He was back at PCA!

"Chase, are you ok?" Lola said softly, tears welling in her dark eyes. Chase finally turned to his friend and a huge grin spread across his face. "Lola!" he cried enthusiastically, surprising the girl by throwing his arms around her petite frame. Lola's eyes became huge and her mouth dropped open in confusion as she carefully returned Chase's hug.

"I'm back!" he cried in triumph.

"Yeah, you've been back for a month now." she informed him. Chase held Lola at arm's length and looked at her, clearly confused. Realization brought a look of horror to his eyes and a distinct redness to his face.

"Oh God."

"What is it? What's going on?" Lola asked clearly afraid. Chase studied the girl's face before finally taking a deep breath.

"Just before I went to England, I started getting these blinding headaches. When I got there they got worse and I started to have blackouts. So I checked with a doctor who told me that it was because some of the blood vessels in my head were weak."

"Oh my God." Lola said "how bad is it?" Chase avoided Lola's gaze which spoke volumes to the girl. Tears fell from her eyes again.

"Why didn't you tell us?!" she wailed. Chase pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want you to worry."

"We're your friends, Chase." she said with a chuckle though she was still crying, "We worry about you all the time." After a while they ended the embrace and stood up. Chase, who was still weakened and listing heavily to his left, leaned against Lola for support as they made their way to class. Lola was now very tuned in to even the slightest change in Chase. That's why she was ready when Chase collapsed against her, but because he was bigger then she they both dropped to the ground. Lola quickly rolled over and looked at the boy's face. What she saw there filled her with terror. His eyes had rolled back in his head and his entire body seized up, then went slack.

"CHASE!" Lola screamed which drew attention for passers-by. "Somebody get an ambulance!"

Lola was grateful that the ambulance crew had believed that she was Chase's sister. She didn't really want to have to fight to stay with him. All the way to the hospital she held his hand, willing him to open his eyes and tell her it was all a joke. Now she sat next to Chase's bed still holding his hand. After they examined him, which is the only time Lola allowed herself to be seperated from him, the doctors had confirmed the worst. Chase had a stroke and the doctors couldn't even tell her if he would wake up. She had told them that she would inform "their" parents but in truth she had no way of knowing how to get in touch with the Matthews. Lola did know someone who could do it. Someone who also deserved to be told.

"Hello?" Zoey's voice answered after a couple of rings.

"Zo, it's Lola." she said, her voice rough after all the crying she had done.

"Lola, where are you?"

"At the hospital." Lola could hear Zoey's sharp inhale.

"Are you ok?!" Zoey asked.

"I am, but..." Lola closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. It didn't work. "Chase isn't." She choked out with a sob.

"What do you mean?" Zoey asked nearing panic. Lola explained to her what happened and before she was done both girls were in tears.

"I'll be right there."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Zo."

"Why not?!" Zoey asked, flustered.

"He's in intensive care. The only reason they let me come with him is because I told them he was my brother. Besides, someone needs to let his parents know and I don't know how to contact them." Zoey recovered from her shock enough to realize the wisdom in what her friend was saying.

"Ok, you stay with him and I'll get a hold of his parents. But you let me know the moment anything changes, you understand?"

"I will." Lola said dabbing her eyes with a tissue from the box on the table next to Chase's bed. After she disconnected the call Lola looked back at her friend sleeping peacefully beside her. "Don't you dare leave us, Chase Matthews." She whispered, resting her chin on her arms near his head. Soon she felt the energy created by the crisis drain out of her body. Lola layed her head down on the same pillow and closed her eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2:Tick**

It was no suprise that Lola dreamed about Chase. Every sign of affection played through her mind. From the time she rested her head on his shoulder in the lounge when they were dating all the way to prom when she first realized his prescence and threw herself into his arms. In the real world a smile played about her lips at the fond memories. Then without warning, the scene changed once more. It was a dark night and she could see two boys on the basketball courts. They were fighting, or rather, one was getting the crap beaten out of him by the other. Lola could recognize both boys. The one on the ground getting pummeled was Chase. The large athletic boy administering the punishment was her boyfriend, Vince Blake. Vince was wearing his tuxedo. Chase too was dressed the same way that he was at prom. Lola looked at herself to find she was wearing her prom dress.

"STOP!" Lola screamed as she ran towards them. The slim brunette was intent on stopping the attack even though she didn't have the slightest idea how. She felt like she was moving in slow motion while the rest of the dream moved at a normal pace.

"Stop, Vince, please don't do this!" she cried.

"I have to!" Vince barked at her, "It's because of him that I was kicked out of here! Besides, I saw the way you hugged him at the prom! You love him, don't you!?" Lola looked hopelessly into her boyfriend's eyes. They were full of rage and bloodlust. She on the other hand felt a calm pass through her.

"Yes." she said peacefully "He is probably the closest I will ever come to having a brother." Vince fumed and stalked back and forth like a wild animal..

"Why are you trying to deny me?!" he screamed. Any resemblance this madman had to the young man she fell in love with had disappeared. It was the old Vince, spiced with her own fears of what he could be like if he ever reverted.

"Deny you what?" Lola asked still totally serene.

"My vengeance!"

"For what?"

"For everything!" Lola could clearly see that there was no reasoning with him. She gave up and sighed heavily.

"Ok, if you have to." she said quietly. Vince turned back to his victim. Just before he struck again Lola dove on top of Chase's limp form.

"You'll have to go through me first."

"You think I won't!" his right hand balling into a fist.

"It doesn't matter. You're not the person I love."

_"Lola, it's too late, he's already killed me."_ Chase managed to choke out before going slack in her arms. She looked up and Vince was towering over her, his fist raised high.

Lola awoke with a gasp. She looked around at the familiar surroundings of Chase's hospital room before turning to look at Chase. Her mind was still trying to grasp the meaning of the terrible ending to her dream. Or perhaps it was trying to prevent her from grasping it because the painful truth was so apparent. Vince was responsible for the fact that one of her best male friends was lying, possibly dying, in a hospital bed next to her. For a while she looked truly lost. What should she feel? There was no script for the actress this time. Looking through the large glass window which looked into the hall, Lola saw her two roomates staring back at her with tears freely running down their faces. She got up, lightly kissed Chase on the cheek, and walked to the door. When she got directly in front of Zoey and Quinn, she collapsed sobbing into their arms. All three girls collapsed to the floor as they continued to pour out their sadness. Nearby Logan was fighting tears himself and Michael wasn't even bothering to fight them.

"How is he?" Quinn managed after composing herself.

"Still unconscious." Lola replied. The girl could not bring herself to meet Zoey's questioning eyes.

"Will he be all right?" the blonde girl asked. Lola shook her head.

"The doctors don't know yet. I'm sorry Zoey." she sobbed as she broke down into tears again. Despite her own pain, Zoey wrapped Lola in a comforting embrace.

"Hey, hey, I'm just grateful that you were there when it happened. If not..." Zoey's voice trailed off as she left the thought unspoken. As she knelt in her friend's arms, scenes kept flashing through her mind. Every helpful thing Chase had ever done for her, every kidness, every sign of affection, however small, played over and over inside her head interspersed with scenes from her nightmare. Taking a few deep breaths Lola straightened herself.

"I better get back to PCA before I'm in trouble."

"Don't worry about that, Coco understands." Zoey told her. Lola nodded.

"I have something that I need to take care of anyway." she said and stood to leave.

"How are you getting back to PCA?" Michael asked.

"It's not that far and I could use a good stretch." she turned to the nurse and using her powers of persuasion, convinced her to let Zoey into Chase's room.

"You shouldn't go alone." Michael said standing up. Lola raised a hand to stop him.

"I'll be fine." she reassured her friends, "Like I said it's not that far." She began to walk away then stopped and turned back.

"But maybe I should borrow your zap-watch just in case." Lola said to Quinn. Quinn removed the device from her wrist and handed it to Lola who secured it to her own.

"Just be careful not to set it too high. You could kill somebody." Lola nodded and walked away bidding her friends goodbye.

_Music to my ears._ she thought.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: TICK**

**Proofreading is your friend**

By the time Lola got back to PCA it was just turning dark. Zoey had been right about how understanding Coco was about the situation for which she was grateful.

"Do you know where Vince is?" Lola asked innocently.

"He's down by the basketball courts." Coco answered her tone sympathetic.

"Thanks, Coco, I owe you." Coco shook her head to say no but Lola had already turned away.

_How appropriate._ Lola thought coldly. She did indeed find him shooting hoops. Lola stood watching him for a while, her face becoming a mask of anger. Just after the ball came off the rim after a miss, Lola aimed the watch at it and before it hit the ground, it exploded in a shower of sparks causing Vince to duck.

"Hello, lover." Lola said coldly standing just beneath the hoop.

"Lola," Vince said staring at his girlfriend in confusion. "what's wrong?"

"What's wrong." she replied before starting to pace back and forth, "Well, I've been at the hospital all day becuase one of my best friends is in a coma and I'm looking at the one responsible, THAT'S what's wrong!" she finished roaring out the last part of her answer. Vince's confusion only deepened.

"What're you talking..." Lola cut him off.

"Chase, Vince! That's what I'm talking about! He's lying in a hospital bed as we speak! He's probably not going to survive and it's all your fault!" Vince felt his chest constrict so he could not draw breath. His mind drifted back to that time on this very court. That time when he was a different person. Even back when he did it Vince knew it had been wrong to beat Chase up. Now faced with the possibility that his actions may have caused someone's death was more the he could handle. Stricken with horror at his own crimes, he turned away from Lola and ran for the tree line just off campus grounds.

"Oh no you don't!" Lola breathed aiming her watch at her former boyfriend's fading figure. Just before he reached the treeline she fired but her rage threw her aim off so that it hit him in the leg. He crumpled to the ground with a scream and crawled into the darkness of the forest surrounding the school. Lola began to give chase but stopped short of the imposing tree line. She could hear Vince's cries of agony as he inched his way across the forest floor. Lola realized that she had hit his left leg. A look of cold satisfaction spread across her face.

_Maybe that's better anyway._ She turned to head back to her dorm.

When she got there, Lola found Quinn sitting on her bed wearing a worried expression. When the door opened and Quinn saw who it was she got up and the two best friends hugged fiercely. After a while they broke apart with Quinn's hands still resting on Lola's slim arms.

"So you found Vince then?" she asked though it wasn't really a question. Shortly after Lola left the hospital Quinn realized what her friend was planning and had been kicking herself ever since.

"Yeah." Lola answered with a dry chuckle.

"And?" Quinn pressed nervously.

"And I told him what happened so he slunk off into the forest." Quinn let out the breath she hadn't even realized she was holding and let go of Lola's arms. "Anyways," Lola continued "I'm going to go take a shower." She turned to the door but turned back, took off the zap-watch and handed it back to a grateful Quinn.

"By the way, it paralyzes what it hits at it's highest setting." Lola said before grabbing a towel and exiting the room. Quinn stared at the door in shock as a chill ran down her spine.

Vince was able to stand after several minutes and began running without direction or purpose. He slammed himself into a few of the larger trees but of course his own body gave way before the trees would. He slowed as he neared a clearing. His chest heaved painfully, both of his shoulders screamed at him and there was still a slight tingle in his leg where she had shot him. He passed into the clearing and found himself on a cliff with a breath-taking view of a valley several hundred feet below. On the edge of the cliff, the former athlete fell to his knees and did something he hadn't done in at least ten years.

He cried.

He cried over his own situation. He cried for Chase because even though they hadn't been friends long, no one deserved that. He cried over what being the best had cost him over the years. Most of all, he cried over Lola, the love of his life. He would have given anything for her happiness. Now he realized that there was nothing he could offer that could provide it. He looked out over the landscape before him, his sobs subsiding.

_Or maybe there is. _He thought as he stood up again.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4: Boom!**

When Lola woke up the next day the world seemed a little, darker, and she couldn't come up with a reason why. She and her roommates managed to get through the rest of the night without talking about Vince or his possible whereabouts. For that she was eternally grateful. Zoey told her that Chase had still not awakened from his coma and Lola decided that was what was coloring her mood. That and the buzz of hushed whispers about what may have happened to the school's former football star.

"Personally I hope he went to Pick's peak and jumped to a conclusion." Lola said bluntly not caring about who heard as they sat at breakfast. Zoey and Quinn bounced back and forth between nervous glances at their friend and at each other. Since Lola had returned the night before the fact that she was changed was unmistakable. The stress of the situation was obviously affecting the young actress.

Halfway through breakfast, Lola's cellphone buzzed.

"Hello? Yes? I'll be right there." she closed her phone quickly getting up.

"Who was that?" Quinn asked.

"The hospital, they want me there right now."

"But we have class in just a few minutes."

"Make up something for me." with that Lola left her two friends, slipped out the front gate with none the wiser and practically sprinted towards the hospital. She made it to Chase's room faster than even she had thought possible. What she saw filled her with joy.

"Chase!" she cried happily seeing her "brother" sitting up in bed talking to the doctor who moved aside so that Lola could embrace her friend.

"I leave you two alone to talk." the doctor said kindly. Lola was surprised, and a bit concerned, to notice that he seemed to have a sad expression.

_Isn't Chase waking up a good thing? _Chase thanked the doctor just before he left and pulled Lola closer so that she was sitting next to him on the bed .

"So," she asked tenatively, "what's going on."

"Well," Chase answered, "there's good news, bad news and worse news. The good news is that I'm obviously awake. The bad news is that the left side of my body is permanently weakened." Lola nodded. She could handle this so far.

"And the worse news?" Chase breathed out a heavy sigh before going on.

"My condition's only going to get worse. I'll keep having these mini-strokes until..." his voice trailed off. Lola pulled him into a hug eventually resting her head against his chest. "How long?" she asked sensing she did not want the answer.

"I may not make graduation." Chase said flatly. Lola shut her eyes tight as a sob escaped her throat.

"Hey," he said putting his hand under her chin, guiding her eyes to his, "I'm through crying. I'm going to spend the rest of my life _living_ with the people I love." giving her his lopsided grin which the stroke hadn't affected in the least. Lola smiled back before letting her head rest against his chest once more so that she could take comfort in the strong, steady beat of Chase's heart. They stayed like that until Chase was brought lunch and Lola realized that she had better get back to PCA before she was missed and also let her friends know what was going on. She managed to get back to school just as Quinn and Zoey were settling down to lunch.

"Guess what." she said excitedly, startling her roommates.

"What." Zoey asked eager for any news.

"He's awake!" Lola exclaimed with a huge grin. Zoey and Quinn both squealed in delight then explained to Michael and Logan what all the noise was about as the boys joined them. Lola's expression suddenly turned serious.

"There is one other thing though." she began. She was saved explaining the rest by a scream which could have matched one of hers on the other side of the cafe area near the tree line. The group looked over to see Vince standing there; with a gun in his hand. Many people panicked and ran. They could only stare in wonder as he looked at Lola with a satisfied expression, raised the gun and pulled the trigger. The report of the pistol sounded like a firecracker.

It was Lola's turn to scream as his body folded to the ground with a gun shot wound to the head.

**EPILOGUE: Diffusion**

It took the rest of the school year and into the summer, but with her friend's love and support and counseling, Lola was finally able to move past Vince's death.

Almost a year later, Chase and Lola were walking down the aisle at graduation arm in arm.

"You forgot your cane." Lola whispered to him.

"No I didn't." he responded giving her a smile.

Four years later, they were again walking down the aisle at graduation side by side. This time it was college, she graduating from the drama department and he from the music. There they spent so much time together that their new friends could see what they seemed oblivious to. Lola still couldn't play "Would You Rather" to save her life though.

Within a few months, they walked arm in arm down a very different aisle.

**THE END**

**Hope you enjoyed and btw, Violet-Shadow, that ending was just for you. See ya.**


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